Egg Product Recalled Due to Salmonella Contamination

Nutriom LLC, a processed egg manufacturer located in Lacey, Washington is recalling over 220,000 pounds of their egg product due to a possible salmonella contamination. The recall has been labelled as a Class I Recall. This means that there is a reasonable probability that the consumption of any of Nutriom’s affected egg products manufactured between February 28, 2013 through February 8, 2014 can lead to serious health consequences, possibly death.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service released a list of products that were affected, which can be found on the their website here. Many of Nutriom’s egg products are processed – the eggs themselves come packaged in a crystallized, powdered form. Some of the products listed include “OvaEasy Boil-in-Bag, Heat and Serve” and “eFoods Plain Whole Egg.” The products being recalled are labelled “INSPECTED EGG PRODUCTS PLANT 2149G” within the USDA’s Mark of Inspection.

Some of Nutriom’s processed egg product that has been recalled due to a possible salmonella contamination.

The egg products passed the initial USDA inspection at the manufacturing plant. However when the product was recently tested at Washington State Laboratories, a discrepancy was found in the results showing that the product had actually been contaminated with Salmonella. The Food Safety and Inspection Service is leading the nationwide recall, and they are working with the Food and Drug Administration in order to make sure that none of the contaminated product remains in grocery stores and warehouses.

Exposure to food contaminated by salmonella can lead to “salmonellosis”, a type of food poisoning. The symptoms of salmonellosis develop from 12 to 72 hours after consumption of the contaminated product. The symptoms include diarrhea, fever, abdominal pains, and severe dehydration. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has reported that there are over 40,000 cases of salmonella poisoning reported in the United States every year, and because this figure does not include cases that are not diagnosed or reported, the actual figure could be “twenty-nine or more times greater.” Cases of salmonellosis are more severe in infants, elderly, and those who have deficiencies in their immune system.

The recall of Nutriom’s contaminated egg product follows several major recalls that have happened recently. Earlier last month Tyson Foods recalled 34,000 pounds of chicken contaminated with salmonella. In early January the USDA closed down three of Foster Farm’s chicken-processing plants, all of which had been recently connected to another salmonella outbreak, due to a cockroach infestation. Last week the USDA issued another Class I Recall of over 8.7 million pounds of beef that had been produced in a Californian slaughterhouse which had processed the meat from unhealthy and diseased animals.

Although there have been no severe health cases reported of anyone that had consumed any of Nutriom’s contaminated products, the USDA maintains their stance that the consumption of the product could have severe consequences. Even though the product comes powdered and crystallized, the Food Safety and Inspection Services still advise customers to cook any and all egg products to a temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Consumers with questions regarding the Class I recall can visit the Food Safety and Inspection Services website here, or contact them at 1-888-674-6854.